“Why does Trump hate grandmothers?”

Commons Dreams had an article expressing disbelief with Trump’s plan to force nursing home residents into arbitration instead of protecting their constitutional right to a jury trial.

Rep. Ted Lieu asked “Why does Trump hate grandmothers?” as he decried a proposal from the administration that would prevent abused or mistreated seniors in nursing homes from getting their day in court, jeopardizing their health and safety.

Fellow lawmakers as well as patient and consumer advocacy groups like Public Citizen, said the effort to roll back protections from some of society’s most vulnerable people is just part of “a disturbing trend of the Trump administration attempting to reverse critical protections against forced arbitration,” which prevents individuals or groups of people from filing lawsuits or seeking damages for fraud, abuse, neglect, medical malpractice and other forms of wrongdoing.

“Forced arbitration clauses in nursing home agreements stack the deck against residents and their families who face a wide range of potential harms, including physical abuse and neglect, sexual assault, and even wrongful death at the hands of those working in and managing long-term care facilities,” the letter (pdf) states. “These clauses prevent many of our country’s most vulnerable individuals from seeking justice in a court of law, and instead funnel all types of legal claims, no matter how egregious, into a privatized dispute resolution system that is often biased toward the nursing home. As a result, victims and their families are frequently denied any accountability for clear instances of wrongdoing.”

Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, said “Everyone should be outraged that the Administration is proposing to strip legal rights from fragile seniors and their families during the incredibly stressful time when a loved one is entering a nursing home.”